Gunmen kill three Libyan soldiers in attack near Niger border
Eastern Libyan forces say three soldiers were killed and others captured in attack on Al-Toum border crossing
Three soldiers were killed and others injured in an attack in the country’s south near the border with Niger, Eastern Libyan forces have said.
In a statement, East Libya-based General Command said soldiers were also captured in the attack that targeted the Al-Toum border crossing. It said gunmen also attacked the Wadi Bougrara and Salvador points near the border with Niger.
The statement said the attack was carried out by “criminal gangs are involved in smuggling operations,” adding that the targeted sites “were fully re-secured” with security forces sweeping the area to hunt the attackers “who apparently fled toward Niger.”
An armed group calling itself the “Revolutionaries of the South” earlier claimed to have seized control of the Al-Toum border crossing between Libya and Niger.
A gunman appeared in a video shared on social media claiming that the attack aimed at “correcting the course of the February 17 Revolution,” in reference to the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.